


Constant Change

by chancellorxofxtrash (PhoebeMurdivine)



Series: Daemons & Naritaverse [2]
Category: Baccano!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Daemons, Alternate Universe - His Dark Materials, Gen, Implied/Referenced Torture, Non Consensual Daemon Touching, because fermet is in this and also references to the flying pussyfoot, naritaverse, there are some light novel spoilers but nothing big
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-06
Updated: 2016-05-06
Packaged: 2018-06-06 20:01:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6768085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhoebeMurdivine/pseuds/chancellorxofxtrash
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Czeslaw Meyer's daemon was not yet settled when he drank the elixir.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Constant Change

**Author's Note:**

> Quick summary of Daemon AU's and this one in particular:
> 
> \- Every human being has a daemon, from their birth. They are a part of their soul, in a form of an animal, basically a representation of their souls. They are not always follow stereotypes associated with their animals however, there are many different interpretations.  
> \- When they are kids, their daemons often change forms, they are not settled. It's during their teenage years they finally "settle" into their final form, but it changes for everyone.  
> \- Most of the time the daemon's gender is different than the human's.  
> \- Touching someone's daemon is taboo. Especially without consent. It can happen when people are especially close to each other, like lovers, but never publicly. Touching someone's daemon without consent or warning is at the very least uncomfortable, but it can be outright painful.  
> \- Hurting the daemon hurts the human, and vice versa.  
> \- If the daemon dies, the human dies too.  
> \- The daemons of other supernatural beings are explained in later stories.  
> \- Daemons' talk is written in _italics_

When they were little, Ksenia liked to be different type of birds.  
Seagulls, hawks, or small hummingbirds, it really did not matter.  
Flying around the city, happily chirping, a sharp contrast to Czes’ own shyness, Ksenia always liked to chit-chat with other daemons, especially Niki’s, and Fermet’s.

 

After the ship... after the elixir... everything changed.  
They really tried to not remember, they really did.  
Ksenia ended up preferring to change into mice, or insects... insects bad. Wrong choice. Soon learnt it.  
Her legs were too easy to pull out that way.  
No matter what she changed into, at first, it was Fermet’s big dog that pressed her down to conduct the... experiments, later it was Fermet himself, and Czes did not want to remember, he did not want to remember how it felt, Fermet’s hands on Ksenia, how he screamed, and how there was Fermet’s daemon sitting on Czes’ chest, making it so hard to breathe, and no, it was not a dog, it couldn’t have been a dog, there was something certainly wolf-like in her expression...

 

„There might be a way to sever a daemon, hear that, Czeslaw?”  
Czes heard it – he was tied down, he was still healing, but he heard it, but could not find the words to answer.  
„I wonder... I really wonder, what would happen? Would the bond regenerate too? We need to find the answers to this question, dearest Czeslaw.”  
„No...”  
„Hm? What is that? Oh dear, I’m sure it’ll be fine. Even if it would destroy Ksenia... oh well. At least we would have an answer now, would we?”

 

Czes didn’t care about the answer.  
He could honestly not really recall how he got free, and how could he put his right hand on Fermet’s head.

 

After that, it was just screaming.

 

~*~

 

After that, Ksenia liked to change into smaller, cute animals. Like squirrels, or cats, but never dogs, easy to play along as a kid’s daemon.  
Easy to hide inder Czes’ coat, if needed, never moving far away from him, not really talking as much as they used to.  
Ksenia still often chatted with kids’ daemons, but only Czes knew it was not nearly as honest as it was back in Lotto Valentino.

 

By the time they boarded The Flying Pussyfoot, both of them had long since accepted, that Ksenia is never going to settle.  
And it was fine.  
Really.  
It would be weird, having a child as young as him, with a settled daemon.  
It would cause questions.  
Less questions, less problems.  
And Ksenia’s small forms were very good to play catch around the tables, with Mary’s ever changing daemon too.

 

When Ladd shot him in the head, Ksenia fell behind the crates, and changed into a bug. Easier to make the white suits believe they were dead.  
It was really handy, having an daemon who was not settled.

 

But then... he turned up.  
The monster all covered in red, and a grin on his face.  
„Have you ever taken an acid bath, or had your daemon’s legs pulled out one-by-one?”  
„...is that all?”  
Czes’ heart stopped, and the monster just shook his head.  
„Dear me, this will not do. Hurting or even just touching someone’s daemon... it’s such a cheap tactic. There are much better ways to inflict pain.”  
He reached out with a smile, caressing Czes’ face gently – and from under his coat, something... something slithered out.  
It was a ferret, it’s fur was almost completely red as well, and even had red eyes, which it focused on Ksenia.  
„And I’m gonna show them all to you.”  
The monster whispered, and the ferret lounged, crashing into Ksenia.  
It did not hurt Ksenia, not even when she tried to transform into other animals – the ferret just held Ksenia down, away from the humans.  
Away from what it’s partner – The Rail Tracer was doing.

 

~*~

 

„Do you think Ksenia will ever settle?”  
Maiza asked the simple question, his owl perching on his shoulder, and Czes slowly shook his head.  
„No... I don’t think so. I mean... one would think she would have settled in the past two hundred years, right?”  
There was quiet between them, and Maiza spoke again.  
„You know... we could probably ask Ronnie, and he could probably make Ksenia settle. If that’s what you want.”  
Czes felt like his throat had gotten dry.  
Of course he didn’t want Ksenia to settle.  
Of course he wanted her to.  
This had advantages he could not deny.  
This thing was even less natural than their immortal life.  
Maiza smiled, and just patted Czes’ head with his left hand.  
„You don’t have to reply right away. We have an eternity for that, don’t we?”

 

The Alveare was always busy, and it was very hard to tell who were louder – humans or daemons, and Czes just looked at the current commotion, with a sigh.  
_„You know, Firo is too much of an idiot to say anything, but he’s just very unsure around you.”_  
It was Nives, Firo’s small sparrow, hopping on the table in front of Czes. Firo was a bit further away, in the middle of the commotion – but Czes knew from personal experience, that daemons in bird form had easier time being away. Firo and Nives could probably handle bigger distances than the average.  
„What do you mean?”  
_„I mean. You are younger than him, but you are older. What’s supposed to happen? You asking advice from him or vice versa? This whole thing is confusing for him.”_  
„You as well?”  
_„I don’t care much. He’s the worrywart. I worry about whose ass I need to kick next time if they mess with us.”_  
Czes smiled, but he knew that Nives was completely serious about it. He had witnessed countless occasions, when the small sparrow acted like a tiny torpedo, attacking other daemons, if Firo got into a fight. Occasionally, she even targeted humans’ faces as well – Czes will ever forget that time when he saw Nives crash into Melvi’s face.  
„Well, thanks for the heads up. Important question, though: do you think Firo will ever get his courage together to ask Ennis out?”  
Czes intended to lighten up the mood, but Nives shook her feathers, and her answer was dead serious.  
_„Probably one day. Not for a while, though.”_  
„...why?”  
Nives just looked at him, and Czes almost felt like shrinking under the sparrow’s intense glare.  
_„You know Czes, I’d say that maybe one day we’ll tell you... but honestly, it is none of your buisness. We all have our secrets, don’t we, Czeslaw Meyer?”_  
Now... he really could not argue with that.

 

„Could you settle my daemon?”  
Ronnie looked at him, and the tiger on his side just yawned.  
(Czes was pretty sure that the day prior, Ronnie walked around with a snake around his wrist. He decided to not mention it.)  
„I could. Do you want me to?”  
The answer was simple. The question was even simpler.  
„...maybe one day. I... need to think.”  
Ronnie did not say _take all the time you need_. He just shrugged, and grabbed a deck of cards, and asked if Czes would like to play.  
Czes was pretty sure Ronnie had cheated.

 

~*~

 

Elmer smiled, and his hyena followed him everywhere – Ada was too big to follow him up the roof, but Czes was pretty sure that when Elmer jumped down, so did Ada, through one of the windows, with her usual laughter.  
People were often vary of Elmer as time passed on because of the hyena daemon, and this often resulted with a very long, and very enthusiastic lecture about the misunderstood nature of hyenas.  
It was hard to really believe it, when Ada rarely talked.  
„Oh, she talks. Mostly to Huey’s daemon, though, they get along a lot” Elmer would say, if someone were to ask him.  
At this point, almost no one did.  
But even before he jumped, Elmer of course touched upon the biggest issue.  
„You wonder about Ksenia, huh? Not settling? Man, I think you should smile about it! No one your age can say this, haha. Isn’t constant change good? She can forever match what you need in any situation, she can always reflect, even if you change even more with time. It happens."

 

After the roadtrip, Ksenia really didn’t have any preferences about his forms anymore.  
Sometimes she would turn into the same forms as others’ daemons, to tease them – especially Nives, who would then chase her around the Alveare, while the Martillos laughed.  
Sometimes, she’d turn into big animals, carrying Czes on her shoulders.  
Sometimes, when nightmares turned too bad, she’d turn into something soft, and easy to hold close, and easy to pretend it never happened.  


„I think I won’t ask Ronnie. If that’s alright with you.”  
Ksenia was in the form of a snake, curling around Czeslaw’s arm, while he moved through the big cruiser.  
„I mean... change is not bad now, is it?”  
Ksenia chuckled, and just gave Czes’ arm a little squeeze, as if encouraging.  
And Czes thought of everything that happened – from the ship, getting down from Fermet’s table, the red monster with the red ferret and the wicked grin, and Firo’s smile, Nives’ angry chirping, Maiza and Leda, all calm and collected but sharp and cruel when needed, Elmer and Ada with their almost matching grins.  
„You know what, Ksenia?”  
The small snake raised her haid, and Czes smiled down at her.  
„I think I’m gonna be alright.”

**Author's Note:**

> Whoo, this was a new thing. I didn't really write Czes before. Either way, new discovered daemons!
> 
> Czeslaw Meyer's daemon: Ksenia, not settled  
> Fermet's daemon: unknown name (yet), wolf-dog hybrid  
> The Rail Tracer's daemon: unknown name (yet), ferret  
> Firo Prochainezo's daemon: Nives, sparrow  
> Maiza Avaro's daemon: Leda, owl  
> Elmer C. Albatross' daemon: Ada, hyena  
> Ronnie Schiatto's daemon: unknown name (yet), ???


End file.
